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Daley disappointed Origin 3 not a sell out

Ian McCullough

NSW coach Laurie Daley has expressed surprise and disappointment that Wednesday's third State of Origin clash is not a sell out.

It was left to Daley on Monday to urge Queensland fans to show their support for the Maroons as they seek to avoid a series clean sweep by his Blues, with some 6000 tickets still unsold for the Suncorp Stadium encounter.

In a move that raised plenty of eyebrows in Brisbane, Queensland cancelled their usual media opportunity on Monday, with coach Mal Meninga apparently putting his business commitments ahead of publicising the game.

"It's quite disappointing that it's not a sell out," Daley said.

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"Every Origin game is unique and this one will be no different.

"It's always tough coming up here and it would good for them (Queensland fans) to let (the Maroons) know that regardless that they've lost this series we're still behind you and supporting you.

"I'm sure their team would expect for that support base to be there."

Monday is traditionally the Queensland team's day off, but both the NSW and Maroons captains usually speak with the media while the two coaches do press conferences on match eve.

However, at the request of the NRL the arrangement has been changed with Blues skipper Paul Gallen and Queensland captain Cameron Smith asked to talk to the media on Tuesday.

Daley switched to do his media conference on Monday but it seems Meninga, who deals with his business on Mondays, won't be speaking again before the match.

It is the first time since 2010 that game three has not been a series decider and Meninga criticised the NRL for raising ticket prices earlier this year when tciket sales were slower than usual for game one in Brisbane.